Washing machine agitator



Oct. 24, 1939. r w CARTER 2,177,383

WASHING MACHINE AG ITATOR Filed Aug. 16, 1937 f I i INVENTOR.

r 2%? ATT NEYS' Patented Oct. 24, 1939 PATENT OFFICE WASHING MACHINE AGITATOR Russell W. Carter, Albia, Iowa, assignor to Antomatic Washer Company, Newton, Iowa, a corporation of Delaware Application August 16, 1937, Serial No. 159,304

3 Claims.

My invention relates to agitators for use in a washing machine tub.

One of the objects of my invention is in the provision of an agitator for washers having an arrangement of blade members which create an unusual disturbance to the water and efiectively wash clothes without tangling or injury thereto.

Another object of my invention is in the construction of a washing machine agitator having a central supporting column and a bladed water impeller of considerable area disposed thereon and intersecting the axis thereof at an acute angle with the result that the water will be given an unusual turbulence and the clothes effectively washed.

Still another object of my invention is in fashioning a washing machine agitator having a central hub with a set of vertical pins of relatively small area and a blade of considerably greater area intersecting the vertical fins and the hub at an acute angle.

A further object of my invention is to provide an agitator for washers having a central hub, a set of vertical fins on the hub and a blade of considerable area secured to the hub at a point elevated from the bottom and in such a manner as to move through the body of water and clothes in the tub at an acute angle.

Other objects of my invention will appear in 80 the following specification, when taken in connection with the annexed drawing, in which:

Fig. 1 is a front elevational view showing the manner of disposing my agitator in a Washing machine tub;

35 Fig. 2 is a side elevational view of my agitator with portions thereof shown in section for a clearer disclosure of the driving mechanism; and

Fig. 3 is a partial plan View of either Fig. l or Fig. 2.

1 Referring to Figs. 1 and 2 of the drawing, we find that merely the details of the agitator and the manner in which it is disposed in a washing machine tub have been shown. It is believed that the washing machine and agitator art is so 45 replete with disclosures of washing machines, agitators and drive mechanisms therefor as to obviate any necessity of showing in detail such mechanism.

Applicant's particular agitator can be effec- 50 tively oscillated by any type of drive mechanism, although it is preferred that the drive should pass through the bottom of the tub.

In any event there is shown a conventional tub member [0, which has projecting therethrough 55 an almost standard vertical drive shaft ll. Surrounding the drive shaft is a housing l2 of usual construction forming a water seal with the tub In at the bottom. A surround column or hub 13 is secured in a driving relationship to the upper end of the drive shaft and has a bearing en- 5 gagement I4 with housing l2 at a point adjacent the bottom of the tub.

The portions above described have become almost standard in the domestic washing machine industry. 10

Applicant now provides a pair of vertical fins or blades l5 upon the hub l3, said blades lying in the same vertical plane and obviously agitating the water and clothes content although in a moderate manner due to their rather small surface 15 area. These blades are curved, as seen in Fig. 2, and efiectively prevent tangling of the clothes about the central hub.

A blade l6 of considerable surface area surrounds the hub and extends laterally a substan- 20 tial distance, as shown in Fig. 1. This blade intersects the vertical fins and assumes a somewhat flat position in the tub. The blade I6 is elevated from the bottom of the tub and lies in a plane intersecting the axis of the hub at an 25 acute angle.

The perimeter of blade 16 extends to the perimeter of the vertical fins l 5, said blade being also rounded at its outer ends.

The angular disposition of the blade l6 upon the hub l3 permits the use of a water impelling and agitating member of considerable surface area without the requirement of additional power for oscillation. The blade, because of its great surface area is particularly effective in agitating and moving the clothes content about the tub. Because of its angular disposition in the water, it slides back and forth in the clothes without moving them as a mass. Further, the angular disposition of the blade gives to the water in 0 the tub an unusual movement, the upper surface of the blade giving the main body of the liquid an upward and sidewise thrust, while the lower surface of the blade attacks the liquid in a similar though downward manner.

It is believed that because of the simplicity of the parts and in view of the above description that no further statement of the operation of applicants agitator is necessary.

I claim: 1. In a washing machine, a vertical drive shaft, an oval vertically disposed blade mounted thereon in the plane of the axis of said shaft and having its major axis extending at an angle with respect to the axis of said shaft and intersecting the same at substantially the center of said blade, and a blade angularly disposed with respect to said shaft axis extending transversely of the firstnamed blade and projecting from opposite sides of the same and having a horizontal axis interseating the axis of said shaft at substantially the point of intersection of the major axis of said first-named blade with said shaft axis.

2. In a washing machine equipped with a drive shaft, a vertically disposed substantially elliptical blade mounted on said shaft extending at an angle with respect to the axis of said shaft and intersecting the same, and a second substantially elliptical blade angularly disposed with respect to said shaft axis with the major and minor axes of said last-named blade intersecting the shaft axis at substantially the point of intersection of the major and minor axes of the first-named blade with said shaft axis.

3. In a washing machine equipped with a drive shaft, a. vertically disposed substantially elliptical blade mounted on said shaft extending at an angle with respect to the axis of said shaft and intersecting the same, and a second substan- RUSSELL W. CARTER. 

